Free LSAT Practice Question

Question 1 of 1
ID: LSAT-LR-43
Section: Logical Reasoning
Topic: Resolve the Paradox
Difficulty level: Medium

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Between 2010 and 2020, the total revenue—adjusted for inflation—that a small Colombian coffee-growing cooperative earned from selling its coffee beans rose dramatically. The increase occurred because premium-grade beans commanded higher prices than standard beans, and both the percentage and the amount of the co-op's harvest graded "premium" grew each year during that decade. Yet the cooperative's members did not experience a proportionate rise in personal income or overall living standards.

Which one of the following, if true, would best resolve the apparent paradox described above?

AGlobal demand for premium coffee surged after 2020, causing export prices to rise even further.

BDuring 2010-2020, the cooperative devoted most of its additional earnings to repaying long-standing bank loans and to purchasing new processing equipment that would not generate profit for several more years.

CThe price of fertilizer and other farm inputs dropped steeply throughout Colombia between 2010 and 2020, lowering production costs for coffee growers nationwide.

DSeveral independent farms near the cooperative began marketing their beans as "premium" during the same period, increasing competition in that segment of the coffee market.

EA decade-long drought reduced Colombia's overall coffee harvest, but it affected low-altitude plantations more severely than the high-altitude fields worked by members of the cooperative.

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